


Nothing is Brighter

by vitaminanime



Series: The Reunion Cycle [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Deviates From Canon, F/M, I can't write a fight scene to save my life, I completely threw the whole "show don't tell" notion out the window, Ignis Noctis Gladiolus and Prompto are heroes of their own story, Kairi Actually Does Something, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016), Mother-Son Relationship, Reunions, War, the rest of the Kingsglaive are conveniently offscreen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-19 08:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17597531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vitaminanime/pseuds/vitaminanime
Summary: When Heartless are chewing up Insomnia, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Aerith, Leon, Yuffie, and King Mickey answer when Insomnia calls for aid.





	1. A Call To Arms

"Orders from Iron Angel-get Insomnia back. Failure will not be accepted. Call for artillery strike. Do you read me?" Said Nyx Ulric over his earpiece.

"I read you, Hero. Launch attack!" King Mickey responded back over his earpiece.

"Iron Angel never gives anyone an even brake." Said Nyx as he warpstriked from a balcony down to a cornice of Insomnia University's library.

"Almost is enough to make you wish Drautos had not been stripped of his rank and titles after that court martial. Iron Angel makes Drautos look like a total pushover by comparison." Libertus called to Nyx as he manned an artillery station at the edge of the amphitheater by the quadrangle. 

"Whoever said women are the gentler sex can kiss my surprisingly fragrant feet so I can kick their teeth in." Said Crowe as she began to channel and summon lightning strikes on the encroaching Heartless.

"No time to complain about Iron Angel now. We're slightly losing ground." Said Nyx as he threw one of his kukris and warpstriked again and smote the heartless with his kukris.

"Where is the Wall when we need it? It's doing us no good." Growled Libertus as he fired another round.

"If I knew I would answer you." Nyx smote more heartless with his kukris. Magitek heartless began riding over the heights of the top of the amphitheater.

"We're outnumbered at least a hundred to one. Do you read me?" Nyx called over his earpiece to Mickey.

"I have reinforcements on the way. I agreed on it with King Regis." Responded Mickey.

"How soon can they get here?" Asked Nyx. The network turned static.

"No time for questions now. I'm going to do something completely different. I've never done this alone, much less with other mages." Crowe raised her hands to the side. "You up there!" She called to some civillians. "Run for cover if you can and save what can be saved!" She called to some civilians at the top of the pavillion behind the ampitheater.

Then all hell broke loose.

A great flash of white light emerged in sharp, billowing, rays. Nyx and Libertus shielded their eyes. The heatwave was scorching and the shockwave shook the very foundation of the ground.

When the light cleared and Nyx and Libertus squinted at the lowering light levels, the heartless were gone.

"This should hold them off for the time being. I just got an order from Iron Angel. She wants us all to meet at the plaza outside the gates of the Citadel. Let's make a move of it." Crowe beckoned to Nyx and Liberus.

"It had better mean the reinforcements have arrived." Said Libertus.

"She didn't specify."

\--

What would your father do?" Lamented Rinoa. "Even though I'm only acting commander the authority is going to my head only because I have no idea what to do. Your father became commander when he was only seventeen. Not much older than you and he knew exactly what to do. Squall! Where are you when I need you!?"

"Dad is gone. Just like the rest of our world. Get over it, mom." Said Amparo.

"I've told you once I've told you a million times. I can't get over him and let's face it-neither than you." Snapped Rinoa.

"Just think, 'what would he do if he were here right now' and do it." Said Amparo.

"If I were your father right now I would brood and sulk and say ''whatever.' Said Rinoa.

"So do what you would do right now, mom. Like what Crowe told me before my first court martial. Just do your worst and let yourself go." Said Amparo. He raised his gunblade over his head and swung it down on a heartless that appeared right then and there.

"Lot of help that will do."

"Then do what you think you would do right now if you knew you would not fail." Said Amparo.

"Amparo! You are wise beyond your years!" Screeched Rinoa as she smote another heartless.

\--

"Wow! Look at this place!" Said Sora as they exited the gummi ship, enthralled by Insomnia's bright lights and LCD banners and highways and skyscrapers and bullet trains.

"Great city." Agreed Riku.

"I've never seen so many lights." Said Kairi. She went over to the railing of the causeway. "It looks like the city is wearing jewelry."

"We can ooh and aah at the scenery later." Quacked Donald.

"The Kingsglave really needs our help." Added Goofy. "Let's go-o-o-o-o!"

Rinoa and Amparo were waiting in the plaza outside the Citadel with their hoods and visors drawn up when Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy arrived, already clad in their glaive uniforms.

They stood at attention.

"Reporting for duty, ma'am." Donald saluted.

"What do we have here? A talking dog, an unintelligible duck with no trousers, a punk with spiky hair and a giant key, a cute little redhead with a giant key, and a dude with an oversized car key who completely ripped off the prince's hairstyle? Someone put me in a better episode of 'Malboro-kun and Friends.'" Said Libertus ad the three of them entered the plaza.

"Save your prejudices for later." Said Rinoa tartly. "They are reinforcements as such and we treat them with the honor they demand."

"Why don't you follow your own advice about prejudices?" Said Amparo.

"Don't you sass me, Hunter. I'm always right. Even when I'm wrong I'm right." Said Rinoa.

"What do we do next?" Said Yuffie as she and Leon and Aerith arrived, also clad in their glaive uniforms.

"Good question that has a good answer. We're going to split into groups and secure what is ours." Said Rinoa.

I swear I heard her voice...thought Leon.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy, you're a trio. Riku, Kairi, Nyx, you're a trio. Go together and secure the perimiter of the citadel. Aerith, Yuffie, Crowe, you're a trio. Scan the bridge and don't allow anyone to cross it. Libertus, you're coming with us to the temple."

"We're staying together, right? Said Amparo. "It's not going to be like last time?"

"I'll be with you until the end. Don't you worry. Hearth and home is ours." Rinoa addressed Amparo. She then turned to those assembled.

"We report here in an hour." Announced Rinoa.

"What are we doing about him? He still does not have a trio." Said Amparo, gesturing to Leon.

Rinoa's eyes fell on Leon. He was the only one who had not been assigned to a trio. Rinoa squinted at his scar. Just like Squall's. She thought, certain her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Go now. Insomnia's in our hands! Shouted Rinoa as Sora, Donald, Goofy, Nyx, Riku, Kairi, Crowe, Libertus, Aerith, and Yuffie reported to their posts.

"That leaves us and makes us a quartet. Follow me." Rinoa and Amparo beckoned to Squall but he hesitated. Amparo adjusted his hood. It was like an ordinary glaive's hood only it was trimmed with black fur, suggestive of a lion's mane.

"Are you coming?" Rinoa ran down the stairs and yanked on Leon's arm, pulling him along. 

The whole time Iron Angel had been speaking, he swore he heard Rinoa's voice, like a song from long ago, summoning up memories.


	2. Central Pillars

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi followed Nyx down the street east of the Citadel, slaying Heartless along the way.

"Come on!" Shouted Sora as he ran up the side of a building and swung his keyblade against throngs of Heartless. Kairi and Riku were also striking Heartless but they were losing ground and Donald was casting ice spells instead of healing them.

Nyx brandished his kukris. "This will take all day at the rate we're going. Let me show you how to warpstrike."

Riku watched and imitated Nyx. He threw Braveheart and let the king's magic flow through him and caught Braveheart some ten yards away. Kairi quickly followed suit and appeared right next to Riku and they fought Heartless back to back.

"I can't do it! Whined Sora. "Fine Glaive I turned out to be."

"Don't worry about it. You'll get the hang of it. Just keep what you're doing now and hearth and home will be back under Lucian reign in no time." Called Nyx.

Once the area was clear, they continued down the block.

"Dang. Those keyblades are better at holding off the heartless than I expected. Don't know how we managed to hold them off before you guys came here. Wait until Libertus finds out. It will be the last time he underestimates you." Said Nyx. "That battle some weeks ago without you was a close call."

"how did you manage to hold off the Heartless from completely taking over Insomnia the first time?" Said Sora.

"I was on patrol when I saw it happen. Drautos made his pact with the woman in the spiked headdress and the man in the black coat with the silver hair. That's when darkness started spewing out of the keyhole. Heartless started popping up like mushrooms and I was the only one there. At first it was just me, the king's magic, and my trusted kukris and but I was able to hold my ground. I pushed them back further and out from where they could attack any civillians and into a fritz that would start their retreat. I then marked their positions and called in Crowe and Libertus and Iron Angel and Hunter and we struck on command." Said Nyx.

"That's incredible!" Cooed Kairi.

"But you were vastly outnumbered. It had to have been more difficult that you let on." Said Riku.

"We were outnumbered. I would be lying if I said it was easy. Iron Angel was almost swallowed by the darkness. Hunter was devastated butWe stood by him and let him know that he never had to worry about being an orphan on my watch. Turns out Iron Angel had merely arrested Drautos and had gone after him in order to follow through the process of detaining him. Poor kid's heart was going to break. They're all they have left of each other"

"We know hearth and home are the central pillars of the Kingsglaive but is there a reason they're so important to each other?" Asked Goofy.

"Iron Angel and Hunter are a mother-son combat duo" replied Nyx.

"WHAT!?" Quacked Donald.

"And a darn good mother-son combat duo at that. I envy them." said Nyx. "Or rather I would envy them if she wasn't like a mother to all of us and he wasn't like a younger brother to us. I'll always remember his cries when we thought she'd been lost to the darkness. We were quite devistated too, but we all came and gave him consolation and I told him that on my watch he'd never have to worry about being an orphan. Glaives are there for each other in each others' darkest hours, and no light is brighter."

"But at least she came back." Said Goofy.

"You got that right." Answered Nyx.


	3. I'll Be There

They met back around the block at the bridge that Yuffie, Aerith, and Crowe were guarding, the battle in full swing.

"Tonight we swear to fight and live!" Asserted Crowe as a throng of magitek heartless got enveloped in a fire tornado.

"You got that right, Crowe! We will fight and never die!" Aerith responded as she flung some heartless off the bridge with her staff.

"Look who's arrived!" Squealed Yuffie as Sora and his company arrived at the bridge.

"Have you secured the area?" Asked Nyx as they approached the bridge.

"To the best of our ability." Responded Crowe.

"Any orders from Iron Angel?" Libertus called as he approached the bridge. "Holy crap those kids with the keys are good at fighting!"

"Never underestimate the half pints." Quacked Donald as he cast another ice spell.

"I have not received any orders from Iron Angel. Just keep doing what we do best until we do. It's probably bad advice to say better ask for forgiveness rather than permission at this point but we have no choice." Nyx warpsrtiked to attack another heartless.

\--

"Hey kid, where did you learn to use a gunblade?" said Leon as they were fighting heartless in a temple.

"There's a store for everything and a video tutorial for everything." said Amparo.

"You're good, you're very good, but you've got a lot to learn, boy." said Leon.

"Hunter! No time to chat about training! Training is over for now!" shouted Rinoa as she vaulted from a gargoyle on the railing of the choir loft.

She surveyed the area. "the area is secure. Follow me."

They exited the temple and out onto the sidewalk and met by a telephone pole overlooking the river.

"Hunter. You stay here. Don't go anywhere until you receive further orders." said Rinoa.

"Affirmative, Iron Angel." said Amparo. He shouldered his gunblade and stood at attention and scanned the premises for threats.

Amparo stood on the eastern shore of the river to the west of Insomnia. He could hear the voices calling somewhere below and then melting into shore in the night. He had been under strict orders to not leave the post until instructed to do so. He couldn't help but wonder why things had come to be the way they were. Why would Mom not shut up about Dad these days? he was gone. But what if he wasn't gone? In the event he wasn't gone, Amparo knew he had to protect what light they had. Even if it ment lying, killing, stealing, condemning...if Dad was searching for the light, they needed to hold sacred all the light they could, even if it meant dreaming in darkness.

Who was this man calling himself Leon? No way he could be Dad. Never. Never. Never. the words hung in his head like a earworm.

His attention quickly diverted to the city across the river. Why was the night sky turning an even darker shade of black? Rhetorical question. Why, deep in his heart was he yearning so bitterly for his family to be all together? Why was time passing by so fast? Why was there no turning back?

"I'll be there, Dad. I'll be there." Amparo repeated to himself in solemn oath.


	4. Two Kings

King Regis and King Mickey stood overlooking Insomnia.

"I don't know how much longer the magic of the crystal can protect us." said King Regis.

"How do you feel?" said King Mickey.

"If I didn't feel as though someone had pulled a giant plug on me, I would feel great. Prince Noctis and his retinue have rescued Lady Lunafreya and your reinforcements have arrived, but the enemy is at the gate and I don't know how much longer I can hold off." said King Regis.

"We'll find a way to end this. I promise it." said King Mickey.

"But what then?" said King Regis. "Darkness is a simple thing. Light is a simple thing too. But when the two come together, when one works in the darkness to serve the light or when one works in the light to serve the darkness, that is a battle with no easy way out."

"Here's a word of advice from one king to another." said Mickey. "Do what you would do if you knew you would not fail. And go from there."

"I must go now. Iron Angel needs me." Mickey put up his Glaive hood and hopped off the balcony and onto a cornice of the window below.

"Mickey! Wait!" Regis limped over to the balcony.

"Take this." he removed the Ring of the Lucii and placed it in Mickey's gloved hand.

"I'll keep it safe." Mickey then warpstriked off the palace and into the shadows.


	5. Lion's Den

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Nyx, Crowe, Libertus, Riku, Kairi, Aerith, and Yuffie met up with Iron Angel and Leon at the rendezvous point by the temple.

"I just got a message from The King." said Sora.

"Which king? Regis or Mickey? You have to be specific around here." said Rinoa.

"I thought everybody knew who was who." said Sora.

"You can't automatically assume we all know which king you're talking about. The crystal grants us lots of magic but not the ability to read minds. Use that noggin of yours!" quacked Donald.

"Are you questioning my intelligence?" said Sora.

"I'm not questioning your intelligence, I'm denying its existence!" quacked Donald.

"Respect your comrades, Donald." said Rinoa firmly.

Just then an explosion was heard outside the temple.

"Everyone! To your posts!" they all ran outside and a giant tornado of Heartless was ripping through the street.

"They're going down!" shouted Kairi as she and Riku simultaneously attacked it with their keyblades. Sora put his visor down and began first person shooter mode.

they kept on fighting it until it dissapated.

"All right! We got it!" Sora, Riku, and Kairi gave each other fist bumps.

"Not for long. We're in hot water now." Nyx cringed at the tornadoes of Heartless that started falling from the sky.

"Do your worst, kids! We're skating on thin ice as it is!" shouted Libertus as he backflipped off a giant Heartless and pummeled it with a light magic attack.

They kept on fighting until Crowe passed out from the sheer intensity of the light magic she was weilding.

"Donald!" revive Crowe!" Ordered Rinoa but he used another fire spell as then Sora, Donald, and Goofy began with one of their amusement park attacks and left a trail of ice over the street.

"Fine! I'll do it myself!" Rinoa then gave Crowe a potion.

"Thanks, Iron Angel." said Crowe as she stood up and resumed fighting.

"You disobey an order one more time and your feathered bum will make good friends with my friend Corporal Punishment!" snapped Rinoa as she deployed her wrist projectile and it cut through throngs of heartless, leaving fluttering angel wings in its wake.

angel wings? thought Leon as he slashed through throngs of Heartless. Must be a coincidence.

right when they thought the coast had been cleared, an enormous deamon heartless manifested, spewing tendrils of darkness.

"We need all hands on deck now. Attack with all you have left!" ordered Rinoa. Sora, Riku, and Kairi locked onto it and everyone began to fight it but the darkness was closing in.

"What are we going to do next? How are the rest of the glaives doing?" Shouted Libertus.

"We just do the best we can for now."answered Rinoa.

All the glaives present were growing weary and the heartless daemon kept on healing itself.

"You've entered the lion's den."

All attention turned to Amparo, who was standing on the roof of the temple, gunblade flaming. he warpstriked onto the deamon heartless and plunged his flaming gunblade into the deamon heartless's head.

"Go now!" shouted Amparo.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi plunged their keyblades into the deamon heartless as it disappeared into a blinding flash of light.


	6. A Burning in My Heart

"Hunter, I don't know if I should reprimand you or give you a raise. You abandoned your post but also came in when we needed you most. How do you answer to this?

"I saw the commotion from my post and I knew you were there and I didn't want anything bad to happen to you again. You are all that remains and I want to make sure it stays that way. I'm one wasted man in one wasted land and you're one wasted girl in one wasted world, but I will not allow anything to stop me from protecting you, and that includes you." retorted Amparo.

"You speak in riddles but you mean as much to me as I do to you. I'm sending you off with a warninG!" another giant heartless crashed through the streets and they began to fight it.

"There are more Heartless near the citadel and the university. We need one keyblade weilder at each location. Hunter, Leon, Riku, you stay with me. Nyx, Sora, Donald, Goofy, report to the Citadel. Kairi, Crowe, Aerith, Yuffie, report again to the university and don't return until no heartless remains." ordered Rinoa and they then headed off in their separate directions.

"Nyx, how did you get the title of Hero?" said Sora.

"It's a long story." said Nyx. "I'll have to tell you some other time, but I'm not always sure it's well earned."

"What does it mean to be a hero? I wanna be a hero." said Sora.

"So do we." added Goofy.

"There's no right way to be a hero, but there's a lot of wrong ways to be a hero. I suppose I became a hero because even while we have to journey through darkness, there's a light in my heart that refuses to die. It's kindled by the need to protect what remains of what I love and hold dear. It's the flame lit under me to fight for what I believe in and for people and values and places I cherish."

"That was an earful. I'm not sure I understand." said Sora.

"I know it sounds like heroic mumbo-jumbo at this point but you'll understand someday." said Nyx.

"I think I already do! shouted Sora as some heartless appeared and he warpstriked and struck it.  
"I did it! I did my first warpstrike!" cheered Sora as he continued to attack the Heartless.

"Don't let it go to your spiky head!" shouted Nyx as he cleaved a heartless in two.


	7. Not So Far Away

Leon, Riku, Libertus, Amparo, and Rinoa fought the three-headed daemon heartless but it, like so many others, kept on healing itself.

"We're losing this battle!" called Leon. 

"You've only lost if you say you have, and I say you you are still going strong! We'll fight all night long if it ensures the safety of Insomnia! If anything I'll make sure those who dare to invade our sacred land will feel no mercy!" said Rinoa as she deployed her wrist launcher.

"But I'm alone in this!" said Leon as he fought.

"You're never alone! I'm still here!" said Riku.

"So am I!" Added Libertus.

"Never being alone is what is at the center of hearth and home. It means sheltering the light of protecting those you value! We're here and we care about you and we value you even though we barely know you. You're not so far away!" shouted Amparo from the shore of the river. Just then a magitek heartless threw a dart at him and it struck him in the neck. he fell over and the blood began to fall into the river.

"HUNTER!" shouted Rinoa as she pushed a fallen lamppost out of the way and raised up Amparo and gave him a potion.

"Does blood wash out?" said Amparo as he stood up.

"Your hood is black. It won't show." said Rinoa tartly as they returned to the battle at hand.


	8. Out of Distress

"Girl power!" shouted Yuffie and Kairi and Aerith and Crowe assumed their positions on the quadrangle of Insomnia University.

"It doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl or an octopus, we need to hold off the Heartless." said Crowe.

"I'm not sure if I can." said Kairi.

"Well excuse me, Princess. You wanna fight, you gotta know you can." said Crowe. 

Kairi assumed a fighing pose. 

"Many stand against us but the darkness will never win!" shouted Kairi as she began to attack the Heartless.

"That's the spirit.!" said Crowe as she blasted some Heartless with light magic.

The girls kept on fighting and held the Heartless off. Yuffie leapt off a buttress and pummeled some Heartless with her shurikan. Aerith pummeled Heartless with her rod and Crowe and Kairi fought with their light magic and Keyblade.

"Secured the area." chirped Yuffie as the quadrangle was freed from heartless.

but before any of them could do a perimeter check a giant Heartless snatched Kairi.

"Not again!" lamented Crowe.

But Kairi wriggled out of the heartless's fist and plunged her keyblade into where its heart should be. It screeched and disappeared and fell to the ground and Kairi rolled to a stand and brushed the grass off her uniform, unscathed.


	9. Eat Your Words

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Nyx, Crowe, Libertus, Riku, Aerith, Yuffie, Leon, Amparo, and Rinoa all met at the square east of the Citadel, but it wasn't over yet.

"Where is Kairi?" exclaimed Sora.

"She was just here a second ago." said Crowe, panicking.

"Where is Kairi? that is a good question with a good answer." Ardyn Izunia appeared in the courtyard. "I didn't even have to kidnap her. The might of the crystal spared me the labor."

"Why...you...!" Sora growled.

"No need to be hasty, Sora." purred Ardyn. "We have Princess Lunafreya and we have Kairi, both of which have hearts of the purest light. The Empire can open the door in no time flat. Ah yes, you fragile flower, always needing to be rescued." Ardyn ran his fingers through her hair and Kairi cringed.

"My days of needing to be rescued are over! I might look weak but I can be trained to be strong. You can't have weakness without strength and strength without weakness. In the past I may have been the one who needed to be saved, now I'll do the saving!" said Kairi defiantly.

"You are ignorant, Princess. Be prepared to eat your words." sneered Ardyn.

"Oh, I'll eat my words. Right after you eat this.!" Kairi broke loose from ardyn's grasp and kicked him in the throat, incapacatating him to his knees and his hat rolled away.


	10. The Guiding Light

"The princesses is safe!" said Mickey as he entered.

"King Mickey! Where have you been?" demanded Rinoa.

"I've been with the Prince and his retinue, but treason and betrayal started this fight, let's end it!"

When out of the darkness appeared young Xehanort.

"Hearth and home. How cute." snarled Xehanort.

"Don't you ever say "how cute" to the Kingsglaive." said Rinoa.

"Fighting in a ceaseless battle for a day that never seems to come. Hearth and home is but an illusion, light a decoy. You think you're so valiant when you infact are searching endlessly for smoke and mirrors."

"Light and hope are not an illusion!" snapped Nyx.

"Ah yes, the valiant Hero. Careful now, without you, who else will you save?" said Xehanort.

"We save everything!" said Amparo.

"We save all that remains." said Leon.

"You question our strength and you'll be laughing through the wrong side of your face." said Amparo.

"What hypocrisy! Coming from a judge who admits there is no such thing as justice." said Xehanort.

"Even if there is no such thing is justice and the best we can hope for is equal substitution, if doing so means protecting your family, then that is a light source of the greatest magnitude." said Rinoa.

"If a light source of that caliber is a guiding light, then I have reached my destination's end." said Leon.

"Destination's end? Proof of the undying darkness in your heart. A heart bleeding with lonliness and insanity." said Xehanort. He went over to Leon and grasped him at the neck, enveloping him in darkness.

"I will never yeild to the darkness! There is darkness in my heart but I'm on a journey for the guiding light. That is my wife and child. I will never give up or give in if it means finding them." growled Leon, struggling against the darkness.

"Don't be foolish. Your wife and child are Heartless, just like the rest of your world. Give up now and seal your fate." said Xehanort.

"I'm sure there are many wives and children are Heartless, but not me and my son. I would go to the gates of hell and spit in Ifrit's eyes for him and I know he'd do the same for me." said Rinoa.

"Aaw, a mother's love. What irony. A mother who claims to love her son with all her heart but has held countless weapons to kill those who would seek to harm him and has a tongue black as coal from all the lies she told to protect her precious little baby. If love is light, why are the things a mother is willing to do for her child pure darkness?" said Xehanort.

"A mother will be willing to do anything for her child. A mother will cheat for him, Lie for him, steal for him, kill for him, take a bullet for him, go through hell and back again for him. The love in a mother's heart is the brightest light in all creation. A mother will do anything for her child, no matter how deplorable. A mother will work in the dark to preserve that sacred light which is the love of her child. Nothing, nothing, NOTHING is brighter!"

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Nyx, Crowe, Libertus, Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Amparo, Rinoa, and Mickey all smote Xehanort simultaneously.

Once Xehanort had retreated into the darkness. everyone recoiled.

The keyhole appeared far beyond at the edge of the square west of the Citadel.

Sora sealed the keyhole.

"We made it through. Law and order has been restored." said Nyx.

"We made it through!" echoed Sora and Donald and Goofy.

"Darkness and light are not what separate us and our enemies it's how we balance them out that separate us. Both think one is better than the other. There is no darkness or light that is mutually exclusive, just two forces and an infinite number of variations therein." said Leon.

"That sounds like something what my husband once said." said Rinoa. She ran up to Leon and Amparo followed.

"All this time, you've reminded me of someone I once had." said Rinoa.

"Maybe, Hunter, since you have a Gunblade like I do, maybe you came from the same world as I did? maybe not everyone in my world is wasted and gone?" said Leon.

Rinoa removed her hood, followed by Amparo removing his hood.

"Squall." she uttered.

"Rinoa!" he at long last could go by his given name. He pulled her close, and Amparo pulled both of them close, all of them laughing and crying at the same time. Leon then pulled back. "Amparo." he said. Amparo and Leon pulled each other close and Leon held Amparo so tightly that Amparo thought his ribs would break, but he didn't mind.

Leon stepped back.

"Let me look at you." said Leon as he stood back.

"Rinoa, you haven't aged a day." said Leon. Rinoa beamed. "But you, Amparo...the last I saw you you were small enough for me to carry, and now you're almost as tall as I am."

"Now I can carry you!" said Amparo as he lifted Leon up.

"Amparo! Put your father down! Don't give yourself a hernia." snapped Rinoa even though her voice had a laugh hidden somewhere in it.

"But in all serious...you have no idea how much joy it brings me to see that you are both alive and well. Words...do me no justice." tears welled in Leon's eyes.

"we've missed you so much...I had to grow up so much since we were separated...It was scary on our own but I learned how to hold my ground, and Amparo has been my lionheart in your absence." said Rinoa.

"Don't change that ever." said Leon as they embraced again.

"All this time we've wondered if you were out there, wondering if we were out there." said Rinoa. Leon and Rinoa then wrapped their arms around each other and kissed a passionate, passionate kiss. They kissed deeper and deeper, making up for years of separation. Rinoa popped up one booted foot.

"Yuck!" squawked Amparo, turning away and covering his eyes.

"Respect your parents, Amparo. They've been apart for much too long." said Crowe as she pulled him close and gave him a noogie.

everybody laughed.

"I love reunions." said Yuffie, dabbing a tissue to her eyes.

"So do I." said Aerith.

"So that's where Hunter's dad has been the whole time." said Libertus.

"I always thought that when he would call out "Amparo!" in his sleep he was talking about some girl he romanced, turns out he was talking about his son." said Yuffie.

"True. He always referred to him as "my child" or "our son" but never spoke his name." said Aerith.

Leon and Rinoa pulled apart from their kiss and Amparo ran back to them. he was now crying and laughing at the same time.

"Mom, I'm sorry I ever doubted Dad was gone. I should have known his heart was strong enough to journey for the guiding light." said Amparo.

"To think." said Leon. "I would often tell friends as well as enemies, that it was the love of my wife and child that kept me going, and to keep going, I must be strong, I will search for the light. Now look, you created light. Maybe you two created light out of darkness, but no light is brighter, and the light you created lead me right to you."

Suddenly everybody wanted a chance to embrace Leon and Rinoa and Amparo and join in in their reunion.

"The brightest light in this world saved us tonight. The light of three hearts bound together by the journey for being reunited." said Mickey.

"I never thought a light born in darkness could be so bright." said Sora. "But I've never seen Leon so happy before. There must be an awful lot of truth in that light."


	11. Hearth and Home

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Aerith, Leon, Yuffie, Amparo, and the rest of all the glaives had assembled in the throne room. Noctis, Lunafreya, Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto sat in the back. Regis and Mickey stood side by side.

"Young warriors, you have exhibited much bravery tonight. Responding to our plea for succor when we called for aid." Said King Regis. "Displaying light when darkness reigned, forging unions and reunions. We hereby present you with this as a token of thanks." Regis and Mickey simultaneously presented Sora with a keyblade that resembled the Kingsglaive insignia.

"Hearth and Home." said Mickey.

"A hearth and home keyblade. I can get used to that." said Sora as he swung Hearth and Home.

"Never lose sight of what is important to you." said King Regis.

"Never." said Sora.

"Never." repeated Donald and Goofy.

"Never!" echoed Riku and Kairi.

"You are always welcome here in Insomnia." said King Regis. he bowed to them.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi didn't say it, but they thought it: if a king bows to you, you must indeed be held in very high esteem.


	12. Dawn Over a New Reunion

Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat on a bench at the edge of the balcony, admiring Hearth and Home. The night was waning and the horizon was just starting to glow a rose gold.

"That's what it means to be a hero. I understand now." said Sora.

"It seems to me like you understood the whole time but never applied it." said Riku.

"Hard to believe they're finally together again. Leon is usually such a grouchypuss and now when he's with Rinoa and their kid he seems like the happiest man to ever live." said Sora, watching Leon, Rinoa, and Amparo sitting on a bench on the other side of the balcony, cuddling and talking and laughing.

"I asked Rinoa if it is really possible to have that much love for someone in your heart and she just said 'if your ever a mother, you'll understand." said Kairi.

"Are you planning something?" said Riku.

"Riku!" she elbowed him. "Not now, of course."

"Yet, seeing them reunited, and talking about how the love in a parent's heart is the brightest light there is." said Sora. "It makes me think about our own parents."

Riku and Kairi's faces turned dead serious.

Sora turned to them. "It makes me wonder if they're out there, wondering if we're out there...."


End file.
